在當代哲學的發展裡，倫理和美學有著密切的關係，傅柯 (Michel Foucault, 1926-1984) 於晚期提出了「倫理風骨」(Ethos) 的主張，企圖藉由生存美學找到一種「主體化」與「去主體化」辯證的可能。漢語哲學的《孟》、《莊》，其實能夠呼應傅柯的倫理風骨之設立，特別是在「修養」和「批判」的向度上。《孟子》提出的一套「性命天道相貫通」的倫理學，側重在一種道德主體的建立；《莊子》「技進於道」的美學，卻是明顯去主體的工夫。然而，《孟子》的「踐形」和「養氣」，未嘗不具有去主體化的美學工夫，而《莊子》的「天地萬物一體」亦具備了一種倫理的向度，藉由兩者的異同對話，可以發展出一套美學倫理的工夫修養，而這樣的工夫修養，亦具有濃厚的批判精神。

In the development of contemporary philosophy, ethics has been closely related to aesthetics. Foucault proposed the concept of “Ethos” during his later years in an attempt to demonstrate the dialectical possibility of “subjectivation” and “desubjectivation” using the aesthetics of existence. Two important Chinese philosophical works, the Mencius 孟子 and the Zhuangzi 莊子, can offer a response to Foucault’s concept of Ethos, especially with respect to the dimensions of “cultivation” and “criticism.” The ethical concept of “life and the way of heaven are consistent with each other” proposed in the Mencius lays particular stress on the establishment of the moral subject. On the contrary, the aesthetics involved in the notion that “advancements of skills are based on Tao” from the Zhuangzi embodies desubjectivation. However, the concepts of “putting into practice” and “cultivating energy” from the Mencius also reflect the aesthetics of de-subjectivation, whereas the idea that “Heaven, earth, and the myriad things form one entity” advanced in the Zhuangzi also possesses an ethical dimension. The cultivation of aesthetic ethics, which is rich in critical spirit, can be developed by comparing the similarities and differences between these two works.